William Anderson
Stories
6
Chapters
2,147
Words
340.2 K
Comments
0
Reading
1 d, 4 h
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Muchen found himself breathing much easier the next morning with his brief bout of intrigue behind him. Even the cold weather could hardly put a damper on his mood. He found that a simple cloak was enough to ward off the chill, and the surrounding landscape had a certain stark beauty to it. His opinion would have changed if they'd been trudging through drifts of snow, but a bit of cold wasn't enough to bring down his mood. He also found himself surprisingly happy just to be traveling again. He'd enjoyed…-
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The Qilin's Nest was as Muchen remembered it. A travelers' inn, one of the many that dotted the roads leading to the capital, it offered tidy and reasonably comfortable rooms at a reasonable rate. Muchen carried his winnings from the auction up to his room and laid them out on the bed. Seeing them all together like that, sparkling in the light, it was easy to fool the eye into thinking they were worth more than the silver he'd spent to buy them. He also took his cashbox, made sure that it was securely…
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55 •
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The first lot only received tepid interest. Muchen had estimated that it would sell for around fifteen taels. It ended up only receiving three bids, finally going to a man in the back corner for twelve taels of silver. No wonder the Thousand Treasures Hall was starting off with the smaller lots. This way, they wouldn't suffer too much of a loss before the crowd warmed up. Muchen felt a pang of regret that the lot he wanted hadn't come first. He had put down a non-refundable deposit of twenty taels of…
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Muchen slept in on the morning of the auction. He'd decided to take the day off from his tea business, as it was more important to get to the Thousand Treasures Hall a little early to get a good seat than to try to squeeze every wen out of every hour of the day. He still ended up awake at an ungodly hour according to the standards of his old life. Considering how he had been living, though, it felt downright decadent to get out of bed to find that the sun had already risen. Muchen took his time washing…
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55 •
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After a moment, Liling let out a dissatisfied harrumph. "You've put your mind on cultivation." "Only for self-defense," Muchen protested. In the long run he was also interested in the idea of eternal life, but old age wasn't yet a pressing concern. "I could pick up a set of scriptures from the market and try it out for myself," Liling said. "For self-defense." "Your father...." Muchen said, trailing off into a sigh. As much as Uncle Haoyu wanted to avoid associating with cultivators, he'd never be too…
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Muchen started the next day much like any other. With seven days to go until the Long family auction he was feeling a little anxious that he still hadn't figured out Heisan's angle, but putting the old man's memorial tablet to rest had taken a load off of his mind. Getting back to the daily routine of his tea business promised to be a further balm to his soul. He'd been enjoying the satisfaction of watching a few more customers show up every day, yes, but he'd also found that he liked the routine of it.…
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55 •
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When Muchen returned from the Thousand Treasure Hall, he found Uncle Haoyu waiting for him at the entrance of the courtyard. He pulled the cart to a halt and climbed down to greet his elder. "I hope you haven't been waiting long." "Not at all," Uncle Haoyu replied. "It's just that this matter can't wait." "Oh?" Muchen asked. "The elders have finally seen reason," Uncle Haoyu said, revealing a small, satisfied smile. "None will object to my cousin's memorial tablet being placed in the ancestral…
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Muchen suspected he could be getting in a little over his head. Oh, the basic scenario made sense. Even if Heisan wasn't just some low level servant of the Long family, it would be naive to expect a highly valued servant to remain loyal in the face of disaster—besides, high level cultivators in that kind of situation were often more in the nature of hired guns than truly trusted companions. So the idea that the man wanted to profit by participating in the auction selling off valuables confiscated from…
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The next morning saw Muchen dragging himself out of bed well before the sun had risen. It had taken him weeks of living in the Qianzhan Continent to get used to the idea of rising with the sun, but that wouldn't be good enough when he wanted to sell to a target market that would be heading to work by the time the sun was up. It was hard. The memory of his successful cultivation session was enough of a lure to drag him out of bed, but he still might not have made it if not for all the benefits that even…
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Muchen ran through a few different slogans before his efforts were finally rewarded. A rough-looking man broke away from a gaggle of dock workers and made his way over to Muchen's stall. He gave the samovar a curious look before focusing his attention on Muchen. "I can get my tea right away?" he asked. "Of course," Muchen said. "A special blend, formulated according to an ancient recipe to promote wakefulness and clear thinking." "How much?" the man asked. Muchen expected he'd be getting that question…
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